Gist, Singleton post double-doubles as Greens beat Maccabi

Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens made it seven wins out of seven at home with a convincing 89-76 victory over Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv. The first half was closely contested, but the home team used intense defense to surge ahead in the third quarter and Maccabi never really threatened a comeback. Backup point guard Lukas Lekavicius impressed with 13 points and 4 assists in an expanded role with starter Nick Calathes sidelines with a shoulder injury. He received help in the backcourt from Nikos Pappas, who added 14 points. Panathinaikos dominated inside, with James Gist registering a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Chris Singleton posting similar numbers with 14 points and 10 boards. KC Rivers also enjoyed another strong shooting night with 15 points on 3 of 4 three-point shooting. Norris Cole led Maccabi with 14 points – 13 of which came in the first half, while Pierre Jackson combined 13 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and Alex Tyus scored 12. The game was preceded by a minute’s silence for Tassos Stefanou, the former Panathinaikos General Manager who passed away recently.

Making his first start of the season in place of Calathes, Lekavicius showed no early nerves as he hit two triples and then scored a jumper to secure an 11-6 lead. After a dunk from Singleton, Maccabi got moving as Cole scored 5 in a 1-7 run and then added a basket plus foul to make it 18-18. Lekavicius and Jake Cohen traded triples and Pappas beat the buzzer to make it 25-21 at the end of the first. The second quarter started with 5 points from Gist and a triple from Rivers as Panathinaikos moved 9 ahead, but a 4-12 run – including a corner three from Jackson and another basket for Cole – brought Maccabi back. The final stages of the half saw two more triples from the red-hot Rivers, which allowed the home team to take a 49-43 lead into the break.

Both offenses struggled early in the second half, before a layup from Rivers and free throws by Singleton extended the lead to double digits. Panathinaikos restricted Maccabi to just 5 points in more than six minutes until Jackson scored a layup-plus-foul, and a fastbreak dunk by DeAndre Kane made it 60-53. Rivers and Pappas scored from close range to extend the lead back to double digits, and when Pappas again drove to the rim to beat the buzzer it was 67-56 after three quarters. Pappas started the fourth with free throws to give Panathinaikos its largest lead, 13 points, which grew further with a triple from Singleton. A 0-4 run featuring an alley-oop between Kane and Tyus gave Maccabi some hope, and after another Pappas layup, consecutive triples from Kane and DeShaun Thomas made it 74-67. But a pair of triples from Marcus Denmon secured breathing space and it was never close again as Panathinaikos cruised home.

Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVI

Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens

“This win is dedicated to Tassos Stefanou. He was a very important man for the Panathinaikos family and for all Greek basketball. This is for you. Nick Calathes is a very important player, but when someone is injured you have to think of solutions with the players you have, and that’s what we did tonight. Everyone contributed. Lukas Lekavicius had an extraordinary game; he’s worked hard and is good for the team. Calathes won’t travel to Belgrade for our next game.”

SPAHIJA, NEVEN

Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv

“Congratulations to Panathinaikos for a good win, they played very good basketball for 40 minutes and every time we came close we made stupid mistakes – two unsportsmanlike fouls, missed good looks, misunderstandings defensively. If you want to play against such good teams you need extra, not less. It’s difficult to play with so many mistakes against such talented players. Now we go back to Tel Aviv and we have to be tough and work hard. We have to do a lot more to get to this level.”

Players

DENMON, MARCUS

Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens

"We were able to come out and execute our game plan defensively. Some of our turnovers, especially in the second half, led to some easy transition for them. But as far as five-on-five defense, I think we played solid and that was the key for the game. Fans were great, like always. I say we have the best fans in Europe, they have been coming out for us, and we always want to come out and play well at home in front of our fans. We want to try to keep that going."

SINGLETON, CHRIS

Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens

“Defense was the key. They lead the league in transition so we had to get back, they’re a good defensive team. Nick [Calathes] is hurt, but he’s still been with us, he’s still around. We played for him and for our fans too.”

THOMAS, DESHAUN

Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv

"It is little details we need to work on, but we were right there. We got it down to 6, we fought, but we just need to get over that hump. Our responsibility is to get over that hump and go out there more ready and focused. It is very important to bounce back. Especially we have the EuroLeague champions from last year coming in. They are a good team, but we have to protect our home court, and we are going to try to do that."

KANE, DEANDRE

Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv

" I think we fought. We did not play as smart as we should against a good team like Panathinaikos. We turned it over in crucial times and it came back and hurt us. Give them credit, they are a good team, they play well at home, but I still think we had a chance to win the game. We missed shots, a lot of shots, crucial layups. We gave some offensive rebounds, which we usually don’t. They are a good team, and against a good team you can’t make crucial errors at crucial time."